The present invention broadly relates to rapier or gripper weaving machines or looms and, more specifically, pertains to a new and improved construction of a gripper for inserting the weft or filling thread in a rapier or gripper weaving machine.
Generally speaking, the gripper of the present invention is provided with a clamping or grip hook for clamping a weft or filling thread and an associated clamping tongue translatable or displaceable in a gripper frame in the longitudinal direction of the gripper under the action of a spring. A clamping tongue head and one clamping flank, defining a major flank, of the clamping hook are oriented at an angle or inclination to the longitudinal direction of the gripper.
In a prior art gripper device or gripper of the aforementioned type which is known from the German Patent Publication No. 3,033,201 corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,371,008, granted Feb. 1, 1983, the clamping tongue is mounted in the gripper frame such that when it is retracted, i.e. opened, the clamp formed by the clamping tongue head and the clamping hook can only be translated or displaced in the longitudinal direction of the gripper device. This has the disadvantage that a relatively great retraction motion of the clamping tongue is required in order to release the firmly gripped weft thread from the thread clamp. This is especially true for thicker yarns or threads or for yarns or threads having irregular or rough surfaces, e.g. for yarns or threads with variable thickness.